Seizures reported last week include counterfeit luxury goods and pirated optical discs in Malaysia… Pirate DVD’s and CD’s have also been seized in Australia, India and the UK… Counterfeit luxury goods were seized in a number of raids in Hong Kong… Italian police have seized more than 200,000 dangerous counterfeit toys from China… Last week it was discovered that a counterfeit Gameboy charger caused the death of a 7 year old British boy in Thailand last December.

Cases and Outcomes reported last week include French luxury group Hermes International launching a legal action against eBay over the sale of counterfeit goods on its pages, this comes after similar legal action was taken by big brand names such as Louis Vuitton and L'Oreal… A British man who smuggled more than 10 million counterfeit cigarettes into the UK has lost his appeal against a 4 year jail sentence.

Policy developments last week include the introduction of legislation in the UK which will give Scotch whisky better protection against counterfeiting... The Indian government is intending to set up a federal authority along the lines of the US’ FDA to try to combat the problem of fake pharmaceuticals within the country… Australia will take part in the WTO investigation as a third party into US complaints that China is failing to enforce its IP rights properly… Algerian customs (DGD) and Nestlé last week signed a protocol accord, aimed at reinforcing the fight against counterfeit products.